Saturday, September 20, 2008

[clandestini] and the islamic increase in italy


As many of you know, Welshcakes has run quite a few posts on the clandestini problem in Italy, for example, here, here and here.

Now the MSM is opening up a little and covering it and not half badly either:

An infernal scene, it is played out daily on the vast concrete wharf that dominates the tiny Italian port of Lampedusa. There is no moaning, no wailing, just the deep drone of boat engines churning water, the shout of coast guards mooring, a seagull's cry. On land, safe and at last shaded from the vicious 40-plus-degree heat, the relief is palpable, if fleeting.

Between January and August, nearly 20,000 people made the perilous overland journey to the coasts of Libya or Tunisia, to cross the Mediterranean and land on Italy's southernmost territory, the islet of Lampedusa. Many have already spent weeks, months and even years on the road and once on the coast, must entrust what little money they have left to the local criminal syndicates that traffic in human beings, and smaller and ever more dangerous boats.


Infernal indeed when humans are reduced to flotsam and jetsam. No one denies the terrible waste in it as thousands die BUT there is another side to it too:

According to latest Italian official statistics, Muslims make up about 34% of the 2,400,000 foreign residents living in Italy as of January, 1, 2005. To these 820,000 foreign residents of Muslim heritage legally residing in Italy, another 100,000-150,000 should be added, as Muslims represent, according to annual estimates by the Italian association Caritas, about 40% of Italy's illegal immigrants.

Many of the clandestini landing in Italy are only using Italy as a gateway to other EU nations, due to the fact Italy offers fewer economic opportunities for them than Germany or France, and because among the clandestini Italian society has a reputaton of being more hostile to them.

For example:

Recent points of contention between native Italians and the Muslim immigrant population include the presence of crucifixes in public buildings including school classrooms, government offices, and hospital wards.

In Italy, Muslims are up against a hard nut. So they move on. Screeds have been written about the problems of Islam in Europe but an address by Frits Bolkestein of the Netherlands, put a neat analogy:

Alluding to the E.U.'s aspiration to become a multinational state, he drew listeners' attention to the fate of the most recent European power with that aspiration, the Austro-Hungarian empire just over a century ago. Austrians were culturally confident (Liszt, Richard Strauss, Brahms, Mahler, and Wagner were working in Vienna). They were prosperous and proud.

The problem was that there were only 8 million of them, and expanding their country's frontiers brought them face to face with an energetic pan-Slavic movement.
Once the Empire absorbed 20 million Slavs, it faced difficult compromises between allowing the new subjects to rule themselves and preserving its own culture. Rather like the E.U., the Empire was past the point of no return before it realized it was going anywhere in particular.

Commenting on Bruce Bawer's book While Europe Slept, one reviewer wrote:

Underneath its surface tolerance and secular welfarism, there lurks something very sinister in the Europe of today, something that the sanctimonious political correctness and anti-Americanism of the elites cannot cover up anymore.

There is nothing left of classical liberalism in Europe today - what is most disgraceful about the current European mindset is the phoney tolerance, for example the European view of unassimilated minorities as "colourful" but Europe's total refusal to meaningfully integrate these into society. European are happy to dole out welfare money but not prepared to give these people proper employment.

Fair enough comment but the other side is that of numbers. Sheer numbers:

Islam is widely considered Europe's fastest growing religion, with immigration and above average birth rates leading to a rapid increase in the Muslim population.

This has been debated now for some time of course. Against this is the point:

The UK has a long history of contact with Muslims, with links forged from the Middle Ages onwards. In the 19th Century Yemeni men came to work on ships, forming one of the country's first Muslim communities. In the 1960s, significant numbers of Muslims arrived as people in the former colonies took up offers of work.

To the anecdotal - there is a family of Pakistanis round the corner here, running a chippie. There has never been any "trouble" from that quarter, they don't try to stir the pot or convert people. They don't call for Muslim schools or Sharia law. They are not on the dole, sitting at home watching Coronation Street. They are the "old Muslims" in the area - more than one generation and they are British, from their accents to their manner. Yet they are nominally Muslim.

What of them? If a cultural backlash comes in a big way, will they be swept away in it? Also, as Norman Tebbit once observed - do they cheer for England in the Test or for their former homeland? Do they become politicized by stirrers in Mosques and politicians grandstanding for brownie points with the population and change from benign to dangerous?

Again, I have no answers and I'm sure they don't either.



[cryotherapy] crying indeed


Would you do this?

For two minutes, I will be subjected to minus 120 degrees; a whole Siberian winter colder than that nippy day at Vostok. This is clearly madness.

Not according to Dr Jan Potocky, who runs the Cryotherapy Centre at Aquacity in Poprad, Slovakia. He believes that being subjected to such an ordeal has tremendous therapeutic effects, and there is some science behind it.

In some ways, it's just an extreme version of applying an ice pack to an injury - the blood vessels contract and blood is sent rampaging towards the cold bits.

The Russians and most northern nations swear by the banya and sauna, followed by the cold roll in the snow or the dip in the cool pool. Cryotherapy goes just for the cold snap and appears to have some substance. Many in these nations believe in the cold dip in the river in the morning or the cold face wash as well.

[maternity leave] and the price-income nexus


In the UK, maternity leave works like this:

All pregnant employees are entitled to take 52 weeks' statutory maternity leave around the birth of their child. However, an employee must meet certain qualifying conditions to receive statutory maternity pay (SMP). You, as the employer, pay the SMP but you can reclaim all or most of it from the government.

It works this way:

* SMP - SAP - SPP
o if total gross NI contributions over the year are equal to or less than £45,000 100% plus 4.5% compensation can be reclaimed
o if total gross NI contributions over the year are greater than £45,000 only 92% can be reclaimed with no compensation percentage

* SSP
o if 13% of the gross NI paid in the tax month is less than than the SSP paid, the difference between the two can be reclaimed

It's even clearer here and here. The mother is also entitled to:

# Child Benefit
# Tax Credits
# Child Trust Funds

In Sweden, it comprises part government and part employer funding. In Australia, there is a proposal:

The paid maternity leave scheme recommended by NFAW to the Productivity Commission will put small business on an equal footing with large organisations. The proposed scheme provides all employees with 28 weeks paid parental leave and 4 weeks paid paternity leave paid through a fund made up of a government contribution and a pooled levy on all employers of less than 1 per cent of labour costs.

Small to medium enterprises are at a disadvantage compared to Governments and big businesses in recruiting staff in a tight labour market when it comes to the attractiveness of remuneration packages they are able to offer. This disadvantage will continue if the government introduces a scheme that requires employers to replace all, or part, of the income of women on paid maternity leave.

Naturally, women are fearful that employers will take a dim view of extended maternity leave and regulations are in place to prevent this.

Right, so back in the UK, a small business employer taking on female staff gains net 4.5% of the amount paid if she gets pregnant and has the child. Now to calculate costs to the business. Whilst it is reclaimable, it is not instantly payable and there is a net loss associated with it overall. This is why SME businesses are crying out loudly against it because the figures, whilst appearing to add up in the long run, in fact cause short term difficulties, not least in having to employ another staff member, who in turn has certain rights.

Personally, this blogger thinks there must be a sharing of the load between state, employer and the employed herself [with partner makes it easier]. Ellee's call for extended maternity was never in dispute here. However, one comment from a woman in the Australian workplace [but the principle is the same] put a different point of view:

Rebekah of Melbourne posted at 11:53am June 13, 2008

I am a 29yo female & would like to start a family in the next couple of years, however I do not believe that there should be paid maternity leave. It is my choice to have children & I do not expect my employer or the government to pay me whilst on leave. My partner & I have worked out that we can afford to live on his wage, however we are only able to do so because we bought a small older house in the outer suburbs & we don't have expensive cars. I also agree with the comments regarding potential discrimation against young female job seekers - I know that if I owned a small business I would avoid hiring young females if there was paid maternity leave.

Another commenter put this proposal:

Mel of WA Posted at 9:42am June 14, 2008

Employers should not be funding this scheme from their own pockets, and the taxpayer should not be expected to fund it either. What should happen is: either the employee makes arrangements to save up or live on their partner's wage so they can afford to have their child and take a year off work, or the employee works for four years at 80% pay, and then takes the fifth year off as maternity leave at 80% pay. That way the employer is not out of pocket by having to pay maternity leave as well as pay someone else to do the absent employee's job nor is the taxpayer is funding someone's decision to have kids.

Women in Britain would claim that because of the measly package offered at present, employees are very much contributing, in effect, even given the paternity provisions and this blogger agrees with that. But tripling is not only going to cripple business, it is going to make an employer increasingly steer clear of child-bearing age women or else implement pre-employment conditions to minimize huge payouts in any financial year.

May we stop and catch our breath?

Trace our society and see what has really happened in the past decades. In the early part of last century, the extended family was the basic societal unit. In the late 50s, the nuclear family was the basic societal unit. Today, singles abound in little boxes across the west.

If we stop to count the cost of this, in financial terms, it is obvious that it is unsustainable. Financial strictures force people into finding solutions and the obvious solution is the extended family, which is quite socialist in nature. From each according to ability and to each according to needs. We are heading back to this as the squeeze grips harder and harder.

Two things come under intense pressure - the government disbursement of tax money and roofs over people's heads - there are not enough flats and houses and what there are can't be afforded. When money derived from taxes is disbursed, every taxpayer has a right to a say in how it is disbursed. Maternity leave is given to people in work and the businesses giving it have the right to say how it should be disbursed.

Government policy is squeezing businesses through tax rates anyway, let alone through schemes like SMP and this most certainly snuffs out incentive - hence the flight of business offshore and overseas. Everyone, businesses included, are hurting because everything is ultimately interconnected. Government is only taxation anyway [plus autocratic legislation]. It all becomes us again in the end.

Those two commenters just quoted above bring out an alien concept in today's world - that the having of a child is a major financial burden which needs planning and financial preparation by the couple, utilizing all family resources possible before the event. Government needs to contribute somewhat, as do employers but the decision is the couple's in the end and that entails sacrifices and responsibilities.

Whose responsibility is having a child in the end?

Where it gets really complicated is a girl who wants to live in her own flat with a child she had and where the father has departed. This is sheer madness at the personal level because the figures for supporting it don't add up. I know two girls in this situation and the family has chipped in to support her as best they can. A girl going it totally alone, on the other hand, is in an invidious position and it is now rampant in society, the US figure being 30%.

In the United Kingdom, there are 1.9 million single parents as of 2005, with 3.1 million children.[6] About 1 out of 4 families with dependent children are single-parent families. According to a survey done by the United Kingdom, 9% of single parents in the UK are fathers,[7] [8][9][10] UK poverty figures show that 47% of single parent families are below the Government-defined poverty line (after housing costs).[11]

So the girl eventually is either forced back into the family fold if she has one or if she doesn't, why not? There might have been an abusive father or there might be the simple desire to be independent. That is then paid for by state and employer. In other words, the taxpayer foots the bill for all these unmarried mothers.

Again I say that the state should do this to a point, by default but where is that cut-off point? This could go on forever, this train of thought but it is all halted by one truth - the cost of living swamps any income in this day and age. The moment the banks created a situation where the price of major items like houses and cars reached an unpayable level, then the only solution was credit.

This, in turn, broke the nexus between price and income and enabled house prices, for example, to go through the stratosphere. This is precisely what is happening in Russia today. Once on that path, we get where we currently are.

The unit of income and the unit of cost must now be completely redefined and brought back to affordable levels.

Everybody is indicating this but it's not happening. Who has the power to change this? Governments do plus the people they are dependent on - the banks. It always comes back to the banks who should be just repositories protecting people's cash but in fact have become much, much more. Will they voluntarily crank back prices?

Not on their own they won't. So it needs steely resolve from government, responding to public opinion, to force prices back to affordable levels and the last leader I can recall trying anything of this nature was Andrew Jackson. In the crash which would inevitably follow this government move, the whole formula is redefined.

It won't happen though because the alternative, the nanny state, confers power on an upper echelon and this blogger does not see that echelon as altruistic or philanthropic in nature.

Calling for the tripling of maternity leave is rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. It's relocating the hurt to another sector of society. There's a case for all to contribute - yes - but this is contributing to what is an out of kilter and unsustainable system in the first place.

Welshcakes is a champion of the single person being supported and she took umbrage at me putting such a person low on the list. The single person does have the burden of upkeeping a household, with all attendant costs and total costs, compared to a family, not that much less. She may also have a dependent - her pet and that needs paying for. Those who have not been in this situation cannot understand how a pet assumes a role of great importance in such a household and needs to be paid for. But it does need that and the owner gladly pays.

No one is asking for government and employer to pay for pets but the single is asking for a fairer redistribution overall. That was why I suggested 70% of the rate which the government pays families also going to singles. For this, I was called an ignorant fascist [see comments on the last maternity post].

That last maternity post called for a situation-based payout and why not? Should the state or employer pay for a person's voluntary decision to be be single or only for unavoidable singleness? One is a choice and the other a necessity.

Who determines this and for how much? Again I was called an ignorant fascist for suggesting that government [who delegates this to social security], essentially means a committee of men and women. You can't have it both ways. If the government pays out, then men and women within that government must decide how much. How is this fascist?

And one cannot ignore the macro-view - that the proliferation of single person households cannot be sustained in a society already groaning under the burden, let alone the population increases due to virtually free relocation within the EU, immigration and births.

What is fascist is the state's gathering of all into a nanny state where the cost of living is entirely unsustainable. That's where the real fascism is.

Friday, September 19, 2008

[remember zion] israel, albion or ethiopia

[maternity leave] needs to be situation-tested

Ellee thinks maternity leave should be tripled.

Well, to a point it should be increased but there is maternity and maternity:

1. the wife in a marriage having a child in the normal course of events;

2. the girl who goes with a bad boy [why do girls fall for them], who then scarpers or is too rottweiler to have about and then she needs family support;

3. the benefits mum who plays the system.

Hands up anyone who's never made an error of judgement? Conversely, hands up anyone who wouldn't dream of working and sees maternity as a good dodge? So rather than the increase being across the board and universal, surely it should be situation-and-attitude-tested in each case by a panel of men and women, in each borough, to determine true eligibility.

What it should not be is means-tested because that penalizes initiative. If a husband is supporting the wife during this time, then the extra would be very much needed if he were on a standard salary and should not be reduced because he happens to have the ability to pull down a good salary.

In fact, the whole thrust in public money distribution should be to support the married couple and dependents first, then pensioners, then, by reducing amounts, the single mum and then other single people [not at half the rate but at 70%, as these still have houses to upkeep].

One negative consequence of tripling maternity leave, of course, is that no business is going to employ a possibly pregnant girl/woman any more - it can't take the risk of such a huge payout. This would bring older women and the male back into favour for employment and that is something the feminists simply would not want to happen as it virtually unravels their conditioning of society to the concept of the career woman.

[political stance] linked to psychological outlook or not


At first this looks rubbish, occasioning the riposte: "The things that get funding to research these days!" but look at it anyway:

Scientists studying voters in the US say our political views may be an integral part of our physical makeup. Their research, published in the journal Science, indicates that people who are sensitive to fear or threat are likely to support a right wing agenda. Those who perceived less danger in a series of images and sounds were more inclined to support liberal policies. The authors believe their findings may help to explain why voters' minds are so hard to change.

Apart from the risible assumption that if you substitute the word "scientists" for "researchers", you get a weighty piece of gravitas, apart from the questionable methodology in itself, they still might have something there.

Left wingers I know do tend to have faith in being able to legitimately utilize the system [which in my case is not possible for reasons in a previous post] and speak of what one is entitled to.

Right wingers tend to assume the system is rubbish and that the only help is going to come from family, friends and one's own success or not.

I've definitely noticed a gloomy view of Brown's Britain whereas left wingers seem to be less concerned and have more faith that the system will protect them.

In general, this seems to be so although people have complex views and so I don't insist on the above.

[eh ... come again] anomalies in europe

A couple of anomalous stories today.

First up, the British photographer whom a French court has ordered to pay damages to Dodi Fayed's father for taking photos of son and girlfiend - Princess Di, just off Italy.

The yacht was off Portofino on the Italian Riviera but proceedings were able to take place in France because the photos were printed in British tabloids on sale in the country and featured in local publications.

Come again?

In a second story, less anomalous but still with question marks against it, is the Pope defending his wartime predecessor, Pius XII, for not speaking out against the treatment of jews. The current Pope says that Pius did indeed intervene on behalf of the jews:

Pope Benedict said the interventions were "made secretly and silently, precisely because, given the concrete situation of that difficult historical moment, only in this way was it possible to avoid the worst and save the greatest number of Jews".

Vaguely related is Stalin's supposed retort, when asked by his officers not to offend the Pope, "Oh yes? And how many divisions has he got?"

Seems to me a bit rich, expecting Pius to have said much. Would Williams or the Chief Rabbi, in turn, speak out about the slaughter of Muslims, if there were a holocaust against them today? On the other hand, secret funding or other aid would seem to be in order.

Can't see this one ever being resolved.

[status report for friends] others please skip this post

To post on personal matters is a high-risk activity because there is this danger of coming across as woe-is-me and no one wants to read what I've previously described as "bleat". Most bloggers keep their private affairs to themselves, if only because there are those out there who do wish a person ill.

I'm well aware that some who purport to be friends are actually saying different things privately, I know who they are but that's the same with anyone, I think. Emails say many things and it's not worth bothering about.

I've also been asked, by email, by a few people, for the current state of play with my setting up over here and I've answered by email but one letter came yesterday from Russia, saying that people are checking in via the blog to see how things are going.

So I'll take the risk - plus it's longish. This is as realistic as I can see it at this moment and where there is hope, I'll try to state that.

First - the good

I'm registered for work and have made some progress but not a lot. It is still early days though and every day I am exploring some new possibility. Today I'll try the local council.

The home situation is very good but it could end at any time as the real friend here is also looking for work and might have to leave and go to where that is. This is understood, as well as the fact that this is a temporary measure and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm abnormally sensitive to putting upon someone, to which certain purported friends might well say, "Well you've done a damned good job of disguising that sensitivity in Sicily and Hull so far."

True but to such people, with great regret, I reply, "Get knotted."

There are two accommodation possibilities but one of those might well evaporate. The other is real but finding work from there would be tough with no internet. Still, tough does not mean hopeless and that's a positive. I really think there has to be some lateral way to go, e.g. buying and then selling on eBay is a thought. No doubt other thoughts will come in. Don't think anyone will pay for writing.

In this area I'm no different to most Brits who are hurting and who are very, very worried about the coming times.

One good thing is that I sent passport and application to the Driving Licence authorities but they have a history of being bastards and refusing people [according to all I have spoken with so far] plus losing documents. I have to have a current licence to get a job [photo licence]. This is semi-OK, as technically they must reissue my old paper licence for a new one - it is that plus change of address.

If, by some miracle, the whole thing does get back here in three weeks, then I have some sort of ID.

I passed a medical with no worries and registered with the NHS and that means a particular doctor - that went off OK.

The Russian university I was at has asked for my resignation for this year and I have sent it as I am not in any financial position to even go south to London and submit documents and they have an inspection in October.

I sent a similar letter to my Minister friend [both had written, asking when I was returning]. It was all amicable and they regret and hope I'll come back next year. We'll see.

There is a fair bit of good advice coming through and much of that I'm following up.

One other very good thing is when an agency phoned the Home Office re my status as a Brit and they were told that of course I was - within Britain, that is. So, on the strength of that, I'll go for the new bio-passport again in the New Year, if the DVLA haven't lost my papers. The complication is that the EU doesn't recognize me plus others. Can't forget Ellee asking, last year in post comments, "Are you a UK blogger, James?" Er ... well ... I thought I was.

A great thing is what I call the Andrew Allison mobile and that is a Godsend [or Andrewsend] but it has to be used quite sparingly for mainly work purposes. Interesting that Vodaphone charge £5 for incoming skype and 50p for any incoming voicemail. A call is 30p and a text message 10p. Guess which one I use?

Now the downside:

Almost impossible to find work above dole level - the available work is basic wage of £5 plus [an hour] but costs are about £8 an hour, all up, including transport. I'm registered with different job agencies but my age and narrow academic field don't help.

Can't teach because it requires a CRB certificate [criminal records] which you must already have to be taken on. They won't take you on as it costs them £60 to request and an individual can't apply. Has to be a firm. No school or similar is going to pay that on a foreign returnee with no recent history, given that it takes 18 weeks and they can't employ you in that time.

Can't get a bank account for the reason of no recent history [3 years required] but you must have a bank account to get a job [it's on all registration forms]. There is a way round it and that is an old account from 15 years ago and I left the book in Sicily and am trying to get the lady [not Welshcakes] to understand where to find it in the bag I left. She did find an expired Canadian passbook and sent those details but the British one beside it she could not see and I can't seem to contact her again. Will try again today.

Can't get benefits [dole] as it depends on past working history and tax paid. Plus it looks bad anyway on the record.

Can't get housing as it also depends on years in the country. If I was black or disabled I could claim special status but as a white British type, Equal Opportunities puts me at the end of the queue. There is a safety net for those who have lived here for some time and are ethnic but not for my type. If I was an unmarried mother I could apparently get £180 a week. Well, that's the way it is so no point crying over it.

Paypal. I've been strongly advised not to do it and I completely agree. It looks bad and would dry up any remaining support there is for me plus it depends on a bank account and that's the circular argument again.

The long and the short of it is that a person cannot come into the UK after a long time away because the system is set up against immigrants who can't claim special status. My difficulty is that I'm only a bog standard, white Brit type.

Immediate problem is clothing for winter but if I find work I can afford that. My Russian ladyfriend wrote and said that a 3kg package of clothing I left with her to here is 1500 roubles so she couldn't afford that but was looking for other ways, so no clothing from there at this time. Against that is ASDA and their prices are amazingly good. Shoes £12, shirts £4-12, suit £50, jeans £8-12.

In Russia, I wore mainly dressy jeans but to get a job here requires suit and tie. I have one suit now [half courtesy of my friend here] and it is enough for now, with two summer shirts.

Am exploring buying local products and selling them on eBay but that has to fit into the other jobsearching.

So that is the state of things at this moment - not a disaster and a lot of support from people I shall always count as friends and these have kept me sane, warm and fed. It's no idle comment to say that that friendship will come back to them one day and not so far away either.

To the purported friends ... well ... that doesn't worry me any. It's always been the way and it's more their problem than mine. To real enemies, of which there might be three or four, by my estimation ... hope we can find some sort of rapprochement. I have no desire for enemies whatsoever and wish no one ill.

I think we're agreed that the system itself needs drastic reform though [or at least revision to cover all contingencies].

More at another time.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

[cunning plan] for the tea and bikkie queue



One nice thing about being back here is the minutae.

We were having a discussion today about cups of tea and biscuits. When you go into the store caf on a Tuesday, as you know, you have to get to the biscuits quickly when they bring them out at 11, otherwise the chocky ones will be gone by the time you get back from the tea queue.

Now, if you try to be clever and one of you gets the biscuits, where there is no queue and the other is in the tea queue, the one who gets the biscuits can then go and reserve a table by sitting at it.

But [and this is a big but], that’s assuming the other people who’ve rushed the caf have not also had the same idea, in which case you don’t get that nice spot in the corner you’d spied earlier and you have to make do with sitting up on those stool thingies, which detracts from the whole experience.

This can constitute a discussion of some 30 minutes later back home or even longer if the tea line person brought white coffee instead of black because he’d forgotten.
How do you organize these things yourself?

[crash test dummies] or just your standard alien

Several people in Roswell, N.M., have reported spotting an unidentified flying object over the northwest side of the city, a mecca for those interested in UFOs.
Andre Buonaiuto said he and his wife saw a flying saucer Monday night, KOAT-TV in Albuquerque reported Wednesday.

And the Airforce explanation?

"Aliens" observed in the New Mexico desert were actually anthropomorphic test dummies that were carried aloft by U.S. Air Force high altitude balloons for scientific research.

The "unusual" military activities in the New Mexico desert were high altitude research balloon launch and recovery operations. Reports of military units that always seemed to arrive shortly after the crash of a flying saucer to retrieve the saucer and "crew," were actually accurate descriptions of Air Force personnel engaged in anthropomorphic dummy recovery operations.

Well, that's a relief. Unless, of course, all those crash test dummies and store front mannequins are actually ... aliens! The only way to verify this is when you next go to the mall or shopping centre. Here's how to do it:

1. Approach one of the mannequins respectfully, then seize it in a headlock and disrobe it;

2. Unscrew the head and place one thermometer you've just brought deep into the neck recess and one in another place, thereby establishing if it is alive or not;

3. When store security has you in a headlock, explain that you are saving the world by exposing the mannequin plan to invade and take over the world.

4. They'll then award you a medal and you can sell your story for £10 000.

Easy-peasy.

[rescue package] let's bend the rules



Couldn't hold back on this one:

Analysts expect the government would waive any antitrust concerns related to Lloyds and HBOS. “In more normal times, a tie-up … wouldn't have even been considered because of the competition issues,” CreditInsights analyst Simon Adamson told Bloomberg. “These aren't normal times.”

At the same time:

World banks, led by the US Federal Reserve, are pumping $US360 billion into global markets in a coordinated effort to avert a lock-up of the financial system.

Isn't that interesting? Forgive the logic, if it is faulty but it looks a little like this to me:

Sub-prime lending, billionaire boys' club type speculation with people's funds, hedge funds et al, egged on by advertising, created both unreal expectations of what constitutes the good life and gave a pie-in-the-sky way to get it - credit and mortgages, together with essentially bad financial advice.

The bottom dropped out and who is poised to 'help'? Why the big finance of course and governments gratefully step to one side and waive financial regulations, e.g. anti-trust laws, in these 'abnormal times'.

Wonderful. Net effect?

Well, given that the average citizen has been effectively owned by his/her bank since the late 60s and given that those banks are now effectively owned by the big money e.g. the Fed regulated, in effect, by the FOMC, then the big money now, in real terms, directly controls the average cit and can leverage governments worldwide.

So, in the case of the Fed, this means New York and this in turn means Morgan etc. Take a quick look at their history.

Now, given that it was the actions of the finance, in the first place, which got the world into trouble, [yes, of course it was technically our aspirations and ambitions but the finance was surely playing on our human folly and vulnerability in the most cynical manner, e.g. sub-prime lending], then again and again we come back to the same question - was all this the result of incompetence or design?

Either way, 'short and curlies' is the phrase hovering over my mind just now.

Those in the business are talking up the economy - that we've now bottomed out and are looking at a jittery return of confidence in the next few years and it may well be so but the difference is who will be in the driving seat once that happens and where will we all be?

UPDATE: Courtesy of Anon. It's on the edge, with lots of underlining for emphasis but watch the vid anyway and chew it over.

[orgone] accumulating craziness and stripping away inhibitions



Wilhelm Reich, [whose brother Third became famous in a separate sphere], was operating at a time of great craziness, the 30s. My own study is more from the 1890s through to the early 30s, when equally weird things were happening and social experimentation was at it's height.

One manifestation of this was the hypothesized existence of orgone which, as Wiki says, entailed:

... an extrapolation of the Freudian concept of libido as a physical, bioenergetic force, developed by psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich in the late 1930s, who generalized and abstracted it far beyond Freud's semi-metaphoric use.

Reich's followers, such as Charles R. Kelley, went to the extent of claiming orgone to be the creative substratum in all of nature, and compared it to Mesmer's animal magnetism, the Odic force of Carl Reichenbach and Henri Bergson's Élan vital.

The dangers in upgrading a metaphor into a science and surrounding it with scientific trappings is especially poignant with orgone:

Freud focused on a solipsistic conception of the mind, in which unconscious and inherently selfish primal drives (primarilly the sexual drive, or libido) were suppressed or sublimated by internal representations (cathexes) of parental figures; for Reich libido was a life-affirming force repressed by society directly ...

In plain English, if you could release this sexual energy and accumulate it in an orgone accumulator, then the sky was the limit. With a world backdrop of Nazi Germany, eugenics and the like, such a concept was always going to be seized upon by both the bohemian world and twould be examined by the crazies at the top of the political tree.

Politically, it was a double-edged sword in that while it could be harnessed as a destructor of the old order of values and society, a desirable outcome for the new order, it was, at the same time, going to free humans from all social constraints and that was something up with which governments were not going to put, especially Nazi Germany, where Reich had offended Hitler anyway.

Orgone was at once anarchic and destructive, a cranked up form of hedonistic rush, where one followed basic impulses rather than any consensus of rules. It was free sex with a codicil that the only law was to do as you wished, every last person, in some sort of sexual healing claimed to set the world to rights.

In a largely sympathetic article on Reich, Gerald Grow wrote:

During the 1940s, Reich became more and more isolated, working with a small circle of trainees and close supporters and a wider circle of kindred spirits, including A. S. Neill, founder of Summerhill school, and William Steig, the cartoonist ... Like many charismatic figures, Reich could be overbearing (Sharaf reports that Reich warned one student: “Keep away from me. I am overwhelming. I burn through people.”), and his faith in his creative thinking repeatedly led him beyond what some considered to be sanity.

Therein lie two interesting threads - A.S. Neill and the borderline of sanity. Anyone over forty years of age in education is probably going to know that Neill's theories had enormous currency in education, as Spock's did with families and were one of the key factors leading to the disastrous 70s "open plan" education experiment on which it is hard to find any negative online reviews, due to education being dominated today largely by the same people. Nevertheless, this touches on the issue:

The construction of open classroom schools declined by the mid-1970s. Concerns about noise and distraction encouraged educators to return to a traditional approach. Although the open classroom movement lost popularity, certain aspects of its philosophy and methods were reshaped and used.

Were they ever and now you can observe the result - less literacy, less numeracy, inadequate socialization and inadequate interface between education and the corporate world into which graduates must survive.

But that's another issue.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

[job hunting] from portsmouth to queensferry

This job hunting has some unexpected sidelights to it.

I was talking to a supermarket sub-manager about running his staffing programme when what looked like the young chap in charge of the produce section came through to the alcove where we were speaking and said that a customer had asked him for half a head of lettuce. Produce apparently told him they only sold whole heads of lettuce.

Produce then told the sub-manager the moron was causing trouble and at that moment, what was clearly the angry woman herself appeared, at which Produce turned round to her and said, "and this lady wants the other half."

The sub-manager asked me if I'd wait, smoothed it over and then told Produce, "That was impressive. We like people who think on their feet. You're from Portsmouth, right?"

"Right, sir, South Hayling," said Produce.

"Well, why did you leave Portsmouth?"

"There's nothing but tarts and footballers down there."

"Really?" the sub-manager said, while I cringed. "My wife comes from Purbrook!"

Produce replied, "Gosh - did she ever try out for Pompey?"

[dead pubs] dead society


Toque says, about this pub:

The plan is to demolish Chequers and build some flats. Local residents do not want the pub to be demolished ...

That's as maybe and this blog thoroughly agrees with the sentiment. However, business is business and if it's not paying, it has to be sold. The real question is why people stopped drinking there in any numbers anyway.

The answers include the smoking ban, supermarket and off-licence booze, massive franchise establishments, changing fast and trendy lifestyles, poor service, the change downwards in the nature of the remaining clientele and so on but the simple fact is that people are not coming through that door, except in search of a pee.

Why? In my case - the cost. With lunch at £6, dinner main course at £10 and a beer at £3, just one evening with your wife or mates adds up to a substantial bill. Only the white collar worker in relatively safe employment can afford that any more.

One of this blogger's major character flaws is to continually ask why. So why has the price gone into the stratosphere and the pub become a less cheery place to go now? More importantly, what ultimate price will be paid by the society by removing one of the key pillars in British social cohesion? Like the coffee houses of the time of the men of letters, the pub was always the ideas exchange, where social values and community cohesion were reinforced.

Was the acquisitive society on speed a natural consequence of change or was there any social engineering behind this, long ago?

[the viper inside] pre-emptive paranoia alive and well

Yeah, right, Mr. McNab. How did you ever get inside as a church mentor in the first place?

Don't answer that.

Brits of a certain age will also recall David Jenkins and his 'conjuring trick with bones' statement and there is a healthy [?] tradition of clerics worming their way into positions of influence within the church and then doing dirt on it.

Why would a national newspaper choose to run a giant poster like yesterdays' in prime position on the front page and run this guff as front page news?

Why would a modern newspaper choose to run a denunciation when there had been no positive assertion otherwise which had grabbed the popular imagination and needed counteracting in the first place ?

These pre-emptive denunciations have a history too.

The Dome on the Rock, in its Inner Octagonal Arcade, [then stressed twice in the Outer Octagonal just for good measure], assures the world that Jesus of Nazareth is in no way divine.

Why? Why would they even bother?

Why wouldn't they just lay out their own stall and let it go at that? Why, today, would anyone bother decrying a religion which is supposedly down on its knees and virtually snuffed out? Why does Christmas need to be renamed by the paranoid when it is just a historic tradition with little modern relevance to its roots, according to the renamers? If multiculturalism is the reason, then surely this festival takes its place as one of the many under the tolerant umbrella of relativism?

Why bother pro-actively discriminating against this particular one? And a second question: 'How scholastically honest is it to do so?' And why would a university administration go into a Christian chapel, remove and lock away a cross, declaring the chapel open to all religions?

Do you detect a whiff of obsession with these people? What is it that they actually fear?

[british airports authority] interesting decision

Interesting priorities, in that BAA chose to keep Stansted and let the others go.

Assuming that they are not complete idiots, that they have their own forward planning and no doubt have inside info on government forward planning and realizing they had to sell off any two of the three, then why would they release the multi-billion pound Gatwick, first particularly as the DfT said:

We do not support options for two or three new runways at Stansted.

Any ideas?

[charisma] is it calculated or natural

The prettiest picture I could find of Mata Hari

Mata Hari illustrated two things, as far as I can see:

1. how people whom you would not actually describe as 'beautiful' can carry themselves in such a way that they 'create' charisma and an air of mystery [the French are masters of this], as distinct from being natural charismatic as people;

2. that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Anne Boleyn [forgive me for not using the other spelling] was also counted not beautiful and yet she had enough to keep the red-blooded Henry sufficiently enthralled but out of her bed for around seven years. How many more, both men and women, could be counted in that category? Would you put Groucho Marx in there?

I suspect there's a lot of arrogance and 'lack of caring beneath the caring' in many charismatic people and they tend to polarize opinion. On the other hand, just the simple character trait of being interested in and caring for others [and I hold up my mother in this category] illustrates the point well. Pity you never got to know her though undoubtedly yours was also the goods.

I wonder how much of a role a smile plays. McDonalds seems to think it's pretty important.

A detractor made the comment on an earlier post that, 'Really, it's being such a cynic that keeps you happy, isn't it? The thing about being in a down time is to remember it is not everyone's fault, may not be yours, may be no one's at all!'

Well no, cynicism doesn't keep a person happy - quite the opposite. She was right, however, in the sense that a positive outlook itself is more pleasant for all around and that's what I think she was driving at. Which brings us to the next point.

People prefer other people to have cheery countenances 24/7 and the vacuum created by current social conditions means that there is a premium on a smile and a person with one [though not a permasmile] is more likely to do well. That, in a way, is a form of charisma by default.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

[odd one out] and why


Answer:

They're all from London except Jane Seymour, who came from a little further out and calls it Middlesex.

[the myth of multi-tasking] inefficient and shallow


How To Shower - Men Vs Women - The most popular videos are here

Gender differences?

My friend here has a theory that no one actually "multi-tasks" - he or she is "time-slicing", i.e. creating a timetable mosaic of filled in spaces.

Whilst many agree that women do this better than men, there are downsides to it, e.g.:

An example of a negative impact that divided attention or multitasking can cause is when someone’s attention is stretched as in “divided attention,” memory is negatively affected. Psychologist John Arden (2002) writes in his book about theories on multitasking that “Multitasking decreases your memory ability.” He also claims that for every new task that you take on “you dilute your investment in each task.” (Arden, 2002)

Also, it's a myth that it is more efficient:

Dr. David Meyer, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, claims that multitasking can actually slow you down (Seven, 2004). He says that through research he has discovered that the more complex activities a person takes on, the more time it actually takes in the long run. His point is in agreement with Arden’s (2002) written views. Again, when you take on multiple tasks, you cannot perform them all at an optimum level. Meyer is also in agreement with Arden that when you are multitasking too much, you can experience short-term memory problems or difficulty concentrating.

... and:

Dr. Glenn Wilson (2005) recently performed a study for Hewlett Packard to explore the productivity of multitasking. What he discovered is astonishing. The average worker’s functioning IQ, a temporary qualitative state, drops 10 points when multitasking. That is more than double the four point drop that occurs when someone smokes marijuana.

As for the gender difference:

Dr. Marcel Just, Director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University agrees with Meyer. His studies on brain mapping, with participants between the ages of 18 and 32, show that women only score higher when asked to listen to two things at the same time (Just, 2001).

I like the vertical, linear model. Whilst every effort is made to fill each space with effect energy usage, as my friend says, you can only do one thing at a time. When you split your attention to concentrate on another thing, even for a short time, the divided attention dilemma comes in.

He points out that it depends on the task.

When putting the spuds in to cook, it's pointless sitting watching them, so you do another task. Well, that's agreed but time is still linear. I was thinking more of the general manager walking along with his entourage, with people coming at him, left, right and centre, to whom he replies in shotgun, staccato fashion.

I'd like to do a time and motion study on him to see just how efficient he is overall. There is the little matter of the depreciation in the quality of his attention due to the constant switching, no matter how second nature it becomes.

Certainly there are tasks which can run themselves and so you spread your attention over different fields but in the end, it is still linear, time.

Is it a myth to say that multi-tasking is more efficient and it's certainly not more in-depth? Is it also a myth that women do it significantly better? There is a definite psychological mindset [of which women have only a part stake in the territory] in which the person sees him/herself as more effective if doing things this way. It's like a self-reassurance he/she wants those who matter to share.

At this point, the whole shebang is brought to a shuddering halt by observation, i.e. in the workplace, women DO seem to perform multiple tasks better. Why? If you accept the psychological test results, then there has to be another reason.

My friend comes up with a reason - women are more interested in doing it this way, therefore they've had tons of practice, therefore they do it better. Put her on a rugby field with it's intricate plays and would she do as well? Put her on a dance floor and she'll most certainly drop into her rhythm as if it's second nature, which it is.

Another thing to look at is exactly which tasks she is actually multi-tasking - how demanding is each and how in-depth is each? How much lateral thinking is required?

In the end, one would have to conclude that the gender differences in this are minor but the differences in life stories, interests and what has been practised so far may be immense. These are erroneously construed, by many, as gender differences.

[the power of people] separate yet together


Firstly, Ordo asks today:

Are we seeing the beginning of another Great Depression?

We're certainly on the brink of one, but whether we totter over the edge or not depends on how world governments respond to the current financial crisis. Unfortunately, nobody really has a clue what to do.

Martin Kelly has similar thoughts.

Ordo, I see it, not as being dependent on what governments do but on what WE do, as people. Guthrum's and Wat Tyler's piece touch on the matter and David Farrer quotes Vox Day:

This isn't a failure of free market capitalism. It's precisely the opposite, it's the failure of government-controlled faux market capitalism.

An example of good intervention, on the other hand, is the way that a threatened blogger can be supported. Read Alwyn's piece on this:

Last year there was a blog consensus that the blogosphere would stand up to rich people trying to bully individual bloggers when Asmanov went after Bloggerheads, where is that blog support for Kez [Kezia Duggdale ]?

There are other issues as well, such as social engineering [read Richard Havers on this] and people out there who can put things so much better in one paragraph than I can in five strung out posts, such as:

Ultimately a Fabian State will be a “Failed State”, under UN current definitions, given the administration costs associated with a deliberately destabilised civil society, and the absence of industry and jobs resulting from a high taxation bureaucratic regime that administers lorry-loads of “sand” to the economic “cogs”. The nature of this failed state must necessarily be militaristic.

Here is another beauty:

Incompetent state structures have been put in place, at monumental expense, to substitute for the State Destroyed structures, those of the “family”, primarily, and continue to grow their legal mandate for ever more state intrusion into the personal lives of the citizens, all in the name of social cohesion, which the Fabian thought processes have set out to, and succeeded in, destroying/undermining in the first place.

Anon now waxes lyrical but also to the point:

Imagine that, like some kind of science fiction dictator, you intended to rule the world. You would probably have pinned over your desk a list something like this:

[1] Eliminate personal knowledge.
Make it hard for people to know about themselves, how they function, what a human being is, or how a human fits into wider, natural systems. This will make it, impossible for the human to separate natural from artificial, real from unreal. You provide the answers to all questions.

[2] Eliminate points of comparison.
Comparisons can be found in earlier societies, older language forms and cultural artefacts, including print media. Eliminate or museumize indigenous cultures, wilderness and nonhuman life forms. Re-create internal human experience—instincts, thoughts, and spontaneous, varied feelings—so that it will not evoke the past.

[3] Separate people from each other.
Reduce interpersonal communication through life-styles that emphasise separateness. When people gather together, be sure it is for a prearranged experience that occupies all their attention at once. Spectator sports are excellent, so are circuses, elections, and any spectacles in which focus is outward and interpersonal exchange is subordinated to mass experience.

[4] Unify experience, especially encouraging mental experience at the expense of sensory experience.
Separate people's minds from their bodies, idealise the mind. Sensory experience cannot be eliminated totally, so it should be driven into narrow areas. An emphasis on sex as opposed to sense may be useful because it is powerful enough to pass for the whole thing and it has a placebo effect.

[5] Occupy the mind.
Once people are isolated in their minds, fill the brain with prearranged experience and thought. Content is less important than the fact of the mind being filled. Free-roaming thought is to be discouraged at all costs, because it is difficult to control.

[6] Encourage drug use.
Recognise that total repression is impossible and so expressions of revolt must be contained on the personal level. Drugs will fill in the cracks of dissatisfaction, making people unresponsive to organised expressions of resistance.

[7] Centralise knowledge and information.
Having isolated people from each other and minds from bodies - at this point whatever comes from outside will enter directly into all brains at the same time with great power and believability.

[8] Redefine happiness and the meaning of life in terms of new and increasingly uprooted philosophy.
Anything makes sense in a void. Formal mind structuring is simple. Most important, avoid naturalistic philosophies; they lead to uncontrollable awareness. An emphasis on sex as opposed to sense may be useful because it is powerful enough to pass for the whole thing and it has a placebo effect.

They may well be the Statist's Standing Orders but in Britain, say, there is also a strong innate, quiet determination within the indigenous people to passively resist this seemingly all-powerful push and ultimately one has to believe that the human being will win out and here's where I part from my humanistic brothers in that I firmly believe in that biblical expression 'ye are gods'.

This expression does not say, IMHO, that each of us is an island in him/herself but rather that there is a bit of the deity in each of us, connected to the whole and unable to exist on its own, just as the hand or foot cannot exist without the rest of the body and mind. I believe that that is what caused all the trouble way back when it was discovered what G-d was up to - recreating really good things in a package called Man.

I believe the primary purpose of a certain force I nether fully understand nor wish to understand was to separate man from his higher self, to bestialize him, to do dirt on him and this force has legions of accolytes because it is the province of the weak-willed, the ones who prefer the easy solution and are attracted by bells and whistles.

That explains a lot, such as why Man sees himself as controlling his destiny when he can't, why he sees himself at the centre of his universe, when he's not, why he destroys so easily but can only build under certain circumstances. We don't like to see ourselves as mere cogs in the machine but people like the Australian aborigines find no problem in that, in being at one with the whole of nature. We don't like to see ourselves as the star's tennis balls, do we?

Why are we satisfied with staying in our little boxes and not relating neighbour to neighbour? Get down to specifics and look at WW2 or any other conflict where the people have ultimately won out, [only to go under again].

Right here is where some of us part ways, I suppose.

The socialist construct is that social cohesion, being such a powerful force, is best served by mindless Socialism, as Anon described above, of forcing people to combine in ultimately unproductive and inefficient ventures, whilst killing off incentive.

Some of us, though, point to two things:

1. the silent [divine?] power which is produced when humans combine for good purposes, such power, by definition, only operating well when it is free of constraints and yokes and is a voluntary combining of individual powers;

2. the vital importance in humans being able to pursue personal goals in an atmosphere which encourages that and supports it without applying constraints. So if you've worked all your life for certain things, the politics of envy is abandoned. Rather than glance enviously across at our neighbour, we try to do well ourselves and find people are willing to help people who try to help themselves.

The State is powerful and creates it's own new autocratic entity to sustain itself but the divinity inside people who combine for good always ultimately wins out, though at a terrible cost.

Phew! [What did I just have for breakfast?]

Monday, September 15, 2008

[are we going mental] it’s going global


According to this article, mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries.

Five illnesses I'd really not like to have are:
1. In Micropsia. objects are perceived by the sufferer as being much smaller than what they actually are in reality. For example, your pet dog appears the size of small mouse.

2. G. M Beard in 1878 observed that, when given a sudden command in a loud enough voice some individuals will carry out that command instantly and without a thought, even if you tell them to hit out a loved one.

3. People may believe that they have lost parts of their bodies or even their souls and some might go as far as to really believe that they are already dead and are indeed a walking corpse.

4. Where one hand appears to take on a personality all of its own and acts in such a way that is completely out of control, the alien hand may unbutton shirts or remove clothing whilst the other hand is trying to button up or get dressed.

5. Some people experience their external genitals shrinking or disappearing, especially when caused by cold water or cold weather, putting it down to wicked gods.
I have a theory that we're all mentally ill to a certain extent, in the same way that there are degrees of homosexuality and heterosexuality in each individual. Most of us might accept the epithet "eccentric" but would take it a bit amiss being labelled "left field".

Some of the most sane-seeming, e.g. the people in charge up there ... well ... least said the better. Sociopaths are easier to spot and there are checklists about on the net. I have an article that most bosses are mentally ill but that might be stretching it a bit.

And those who claim to be thoroughly sane ... methinks they possibly protesteth too much.

Lastly, there does seem, to me, to be an increase in "brittleness" and "strangeness" in little ways with many people across society, this maybe stemming from stress in today's society.

[consider sicily] an alternative break

From Welshcakes and I thoroughly endorse this:

LEARN ITALIAN IN SICILY - 2

I [Welshcakes, that is] am posting this on behalf of the English International School in Modica.

Since I last wrote about the School's services, we have received many enquiries regarding our prices, the cost of accommodation, transport and so on. I hope that the following information will be helpful:

ITALIAN COURSES FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES
The School offers individual, semi-individual [2 students] and group courses and can tailor a course to your needs. All teachers are mother tongue.

We organise our courses according to the level of students' knowledge of Italian: elementary, intermediate or advanced.

Courses last a minimum of one week (Monday to Friday) but we can extend the number of weeks at students' request.

Course structure
Semi-standard [2 hours per day]
Standard [4 hours per day]
Intensive [6 hours per day]

We can also organise personalised courses for students enrolling for individual lessons: students can decide, with the teacher, how many hours and how many days of tuition they require during the week. Students who enrol for semi-individual or group courses can also request some individual lessons to clarify certain points or for extra practice.

Lesson content
Conversation
Grammar
Lexis
Idioms
Analysis and comprehension of descriptive, narrative and poetic texts where appropriate.
Italian and Sicilian traditions and customs.

Students will also be able to see some Italian films and plays.

On request we will organise excursions so that students can see some of the architectural and natural wonders of Sicily, such as the Baroque heritage of the Val di Noto, the nature reserve at Vendicari, Greek monuments at Syracuse and Agrigento and those of the Arab-Norman period in Palermo.

Course fees
There is an enrolment fee ( which also covers the cost of course materials) of € 50 for all courses.

Fees for a one -hour lesson
Individual - € 25
Semi-individual - € 15
Group - € 10

Fees for one week of individual tuition
Semi-standard course [2 hours per day] - € 225
Standard course [4 hours per day] - € 500
Intensive course [6 hours per day] - € 750

Fees for one week of semi-individual tuition [2 students]
Semi-standard course [2 hours per day] - € 150
Standard course [4 hours per day] - € 300
Intensive course [6 hours per day] - € 525

Fees for one week of group tuition
Semi-standard course [2 hours per day] - € 100
Standard course [4 hours per day] - € 200
Intensive course [6 hours per day] - € 350

These prices do not include excursions, cinema or theatre tickets.
Booking procedure
The € 50 enrolment fee is payable upon registering for the course. The balance must be paid, by bank transfer, 3 weeks before your course commences.

GETTING TO MODICA
To get to Modica you need to fly into Fontanarossa Airport, Catania as Palermo is a 4- hour bus journey away. Direct flights are operated from the UK and you can also fly to Catania from Rome, Milan or Pisa. From the airport the AST company operates an efficient and direct bus service to Modica. A taxi to Modica for up to 3 people would cost € 130, whilst a minibus for 6 people would cost € 160 [prices valid until 31.12.08].

ACCOMMODATION
Here are 2 examples of bed and breakfast prices in Modica: Bed and breakfast at the Luna Blu, in historic Modica Bassa would cost € 25 per person per night. Bed and breakfast at The Garden, Modica [within walking distance of the School] would cost € 40 - 50 per person per night. It is also possible to rent a modern, self-catering apartment for 2 people in Modica Bassa from € 25 per person per night.

CAR HIRE
You can find information about car hire and other services in Modica here.

CONTACT US
Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.


Contact: Catherine Ciancio, Director of Studies
Tel: +39 0932456613
Fax: +39 0932456613
Email: english_int.school@virgilio.it

[luvverly day] the day we went to the dvla

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
I'm off to the ^&*$£()*ing DVLA

Yep, Higham is off on another identity-establishing jaunt today to a far flung town, finding his way around said town, wading his way through conflicting statements on multiple guidance leaflets and helpline advice, buying a cripplingly expensive lunch and then tackling the transport system [especially the return without any identity documents which will have been left at the DVLA for loss and later retrieval], before eventually arriving back here .

The real joke though is that he thinks he can also encompass taking his specimen to the local doctor, as per request and registering at another local employment office, minus the requisite documents, all on the one day.

But the joke's on them because I've already lost most of my hair so I can't lose much more.

LATE AFTERNOON UPDATE

Well, what fun that was. The DVLA itself was not really a problem but that is a problem in itself in that no real questions or issues were raised which I could imagine there might have been. Thought I'd ask the lady about the rumour that the DVLA lost passports and things and she said, 'Oh not that much really.'

The smile froze on my face.

Later, seeking employment, the usual status issues arose but hopefully that'll be sorted out tomorrow. 'Oh, we don't get many of those over here,' she said, meaning people who've been gallivanting round the world. 'Yer well travelled then, aren't ye?'

Hopefully that's not held against me when we get down to the nitty gritty.

The return bus ride took us by the scenic route so that was nice too. Luvverly day?

[scanner] horror movie coming to you soon

US airports Los Angeles, New York's JFK, Baltimore-Washington, Denver, Albuquerque, Ronald Reagan Washington, Detroit, Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix Sky-Harbour, Washington Dulles and Las Vegas are now employing whole body scan technology on randomly selected passengers:

Unlike the puffer machines, which blast a person with air, then vacuum the particles and scan them for traces of explosives, the body-imaging machines use millimetre waves. A passenger steps into the machine and remains still for a few seconds, while the technology creates a three-dimensional image of the passenger from two antennas that simultaneously rotate around the body.

Millimetre waves use electromagnetic waves to generate an image based on the energy reflected from the body, creating a robotic image. The energy emitted is 10,000 times less than that of a cell phone, the TSA said.

They're scheduled for introduction at other US airports and it is probably a question of time until they enter the UK.

My question is: 'Is overseas travel the fun experience we like to delude ourselves it once was [ignoring transfer problems, hotels not up to scratch, being shunted into a tourist zone with all the others, interesting breakfast arrangements at the hotels, food hygiene and hotel building construction issues, pool hazards et al]?"

Could "the authorities", from the initial document renewal and submission phase through to the insurance lodgment for compensation phase later, be trying to give us a simple message:

"Much better to stay home and be a good little boy or girl?"